Alternate Translation of "An aged monk from Egypt whom the Virgin Mary made young again"
By Jeremy Brown & Dawit Muluneh with Wendy Laura Belcher from EMML (HMML) 9002, ff. 179r-180r
December 4, 2023
A miracle performed by Our Lady Mary, the Twofold Virgin, may Her prayer be with her servant Simon,[1] forever and ever, amen.
A man from among the Hebrew-speakers lived in the [Egyptian] city of Akhmim[2] [and served as a member of the clergy].
Out of an abundance of love for Our Lady Mary, the Twofold Virgin, and from the depths of heart, with fear and trembling, this man never ceased commemorating her name with his lips. He did so along with prostration and praise.
He would prostrate himself on the ground out of respect for the name and glory of Our Lady Mary, the Twofold Virgin.
When the days of his youth had passed, he became an adult and then elderly. He was bent over by old age. He lost his strength and was unable to stand.
As a member of the clergy, he served in the church with purity during the [liturgical] time for [censing the church with] incense, [celebrating] the Eucharist, and administering the Holy Mystery to the people.
When the Patriarch realized that the man was feeble and faltering, the patriarch assigned two deacons to help the man in church to stand and sit as needed.
One day [when the deacons were not with him], while he was calling out the name Our Lady Mary, the twofold Virgin, and prostrating himself facedown on the ground, he fell onto his chest and broke his back.
He screamed out from the depths of his heart, saying, “My dear Lady Mary, the Twofold Virgin! Come, help me, and save me from my accidental fall!”
Instantly, Our Lady Mary announced good news to him, while standing on the right side of the altar. She reached out her hand, touched his broken back, and healed him through the aid of her beloved Son. Then, she signaled to him that he should come and stand at the altar, next to her.
Having stood up, he praised the beauty of her light[, because she glowed] like a flame. Upon seeing her light, he was amazed and awestruck, marveling at her great beauty and being astonished. Body and soul, he rejoiced and was delighted. The living light that shone upon her satiated him, as if his belly was full of food and drink.
His old age was reversed and he was born again like a baby. He gained the strength of a young man. He continued to serve in the church of Our Lady Mary, the Twofold Virgin, all the days of his life, in holiness and purity.
Mary increased the length of his life by 140 years. All in all, he lived 240 years on earth.
Then, he passed away from this fleeting world and traveled into eternal life.
May her prayer and blessing be with her servant Simon, forever and ever, amen.
[1] Simon is perhaps the founder of Hagara Maryam.
[2] Akhmim is an Egyptian city just a few miles from the White Monastery.
View an alternate translation of this story.
TO CITE THIS TRANSLATION
Jeremy Brown & Dawit Muluneh with Wendy Laura Belcher, trans. "ID 161: An aged monk from Egypt whom the Virgin Mary made young again ." Täˀammərä Maryam (Miracle of Mary) Stories, edited by Wendy Laura Belcher, Jeremy Brown, Mehari Worku, and Dawit Muluneh. Princeton: Princeton Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Egyptian Miracles of Mary project.
